Handra – Coat Of Dust/Stay Away ABREC06

In a scene filled with huge long standing labels such as: Ram, Metalheadz and Renegade Hardware, who have all entered their third decade, it can be difficult for young labels to break through and make themselves heard. One such label that is achieving this is Addictive Behaviour, who have already started to make a name for themselves in their first year of releasing music. Their next release comes from a couple of guys to watch out for in the future; they go by the name of Handra and they’ve been making some waves throughout the scene with their deep rolling style.

Handra have been receiving support from the likes of: Lenzman, Hydro, Loxy, Technimatic, Dabs and Riya just to name a few, and after listening to their new single, it’s easy to see why. The A side “Coat Of Dust” is an elegant deep roller that possesses a beautifully flowing dark liquid feel. A gentle sea breeze washes over the drums on the intro before they are swapped out for the long grooving bass line; both elements then join forces for the smooth but satisfying drop. The longing vocal cry completes the vibe on the track and becomes a vital element of the breakdown, helping to ease things up before the slightly and subtly more aggressive second drop.

Handra’s diversity shines through on the flip side with a much darker piece in “Stay Away”. Strong drums finished with ominous lone notes build a haunting intro, which is completed by a dark creepy vocal sample. A hard hitting punchy bass line comes in on the drop, accompanied by a rough electronic growl. They’ve really managed to maintain the track’s eerie vibe on the breakdown with creaking doors and sharp exhales of air; real classic horror movie stuff. No let up on the second drop either, that bass line keeps running strong till the end, finishing off an excellent release with both tunes fighting for that A side spot. I’m definitely gonna be rinsing this one for a while 😉